[6] The name Darjeeling acclaimed from the Tibetan words Dorje, which is the thunderbolt sceptre of the Hindu deity Indra, and ling, which means "a place" or "land".

Most of Darjeeling formed a part of dominions of the Chogyal of Sikkim, who had been engaged in an unsuccessful warfare against the Gorkhas of Nepal.

By the beginning of the 19th century, they had overrun Sikkim as far eastward as the Teesta River and had conquered and annexed the entire Terai.

The Anglo-Gorkha war broke out in 1814, which resulted in the defeat of the Gorkhas and subsequently led to the signing of the Sugauli Treaty in 1815.

In 1835, the hill of Darjeeling, including an enclave of 138 square miles (360 km2), was given to the British East India Company by Sikkim.

During the 1980s, the Gorkha National Liberation Front led an intensive and often violent campaign for the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state within India, across the Nepali-speaking areas in northern West Bengal.

However, the demand for full statehood within India has emerged once again, with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha as its chief proponent.

[8] The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration replaced the DGHC in August 2012 after the GJM signed an agreement with the government.

[9] The Darjeeling hill area is formed of comparatively recent rock structure that has a direct bearing on landslides.

Soils of Darjeeling hill areas are extremely varied, depending on elevation, degree of slope, vegetative cover and geolithology.

As human population expands in the hills, forests are being depleted for the extension of agricultural lands, introduction of new settlements, roadways, etc.

Shorea robusta remains the most prominent species of tropical moist deciduous forest along with heavy undergrowth.

Other communities with a long history in the district include the Tamang, Yakkha, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Newar, Thami, Chettri, Bahun, Kami, and Damai.

Over time, the ethnic distinctions between the hill people have blurred and today most identify as Gorkha and speak Nepali only as mother tongue.

[16] In the plains, the Bengalis and Rajbongshis are in majority while there are large numbers of Gorkhas and Adivasis, the latter of which migrated from Chotanagpur and Santhal Parganas during British rule as tea garden workers.

[19] According to 1951 Census, about 26% of the population in the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling district (including Kalimpong) spoke Nepali as mother language.

[20] Other languages formerly spoken in the hills included Limbu, Tamang, Magar, Gurung, Rai, Sunuwar, Yakkha and Newar.

Bengali is the official language of the district, with Nepali declared as co-official only in Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions.

[24][25][26][27] State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice.